Interview with Stéphane Attali, General Director of Ecole Supérieure Des Affaires

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You mentioned that Lebanon is an educational hub for the regional elite.  What makes Lebanon unique and what are the prospects for Lebanon to become a regional hub?

History makes it unique.  Lebanon has been an educational hub for many years.  The universities you have here were created many years ago.  They have this tradition of education for the countries of the whole region and that is very important in the story of Lebanon.  Then comes the environment.  The environment of Lebanon makes it unique ; you have a unique position between East and West. Lebanon has experienced globalization for several years before globalization was mentioned in all the newspapers.  We are a witness of the attraction Lebanon has for people coming from all countries including Europe, thanks to our academic partnerships, and our reputation.

What would you say to anyone interested in education in Lebanon ?

Lebanon is a place where you have a center of research.  Here you have unique experiences and success stories.  Our professors are all coming from European countries and they’re teaching here.  When they go back to their countries they are speaking of this Lebanese model of business. 

"This model is a company that goes through all

obstacles without fainting and with no help of

the state which is very important."

All the CEOs and chairmen have built specific strategies that we call a crisis plan for 24 hours.  We all have a five year strategic plan and a 24 hour emergency plan, and this is what makes us unique.  In Europe they are teaching this Lebanese economic model !

For many years now, ESA has provided business education adapted to the needs of companies. How does the school maintain its close relationships with companies and how important is business education for you ?

ESA was created in 1996 by the French and Lebanese governments to create a new model of education in the field of management and business, on the French model.  The two governments called for the Chamber of Commerce of Paris to come here to Lebanon to create and develop this new management school.  That’s the root of ESA.  It was created to be very close to the business world and companies, and has always kept this very close link to the business community.  The expression today is very strong links with many companies all over.  We are developing these links on different aspects, like anticipating what their needs will be in terms of expertise.  One of the strategic aspects of business education today is how to be innovative and creative and we are doing that.

What makes you unique and how do you compete with other players on the market ?

The international expertise that we’re bringing here to Lebanon.  Our professors are from Europe and sometimes Canada and Asia.  We have several degree awarding programs, and most of our students are professionals who are working. 

"We also have a full range of continuing education

with short seminars.  Altogether we have

approximately 450 students, among them CEOs,

chairmen, and executives."

It’s a very exclusive group of people and selection is very high.  A major innovation for next year is that our executive MBA program will be in English, and it will allow people coming from the Gulf to attend our courses here in Lebanon and to have a very close link with Europe.


What kind of added value are you offering to these students and are you mostly focused on the Arab countries or would you like to attract people from elsewhere ?

The vision we have today is to be a regional business school with a very strong link with all of the countries in the region.  With our main strategic partners, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank of Lebanon and the Paris Chamber of Commerce, we also have a very strong link with Europe.  This is to our advantage ; we are bringing international expertise here.  This is one of the major assets.

Can you mention an example of a success story at your university ?

For the first time a few months ago Air France decided not to have an expatriate here in Lebanon to be the head of Air France Liban.  They decided to have a Lebanese instead and they hired someone who was in the company who had an MBA from ESA.  I think the major part of the success comes from him, his personality, but we are very proud to have one of our alumni who was chosen by a very big company like Air France to be in charge of the responsibility.  It is a sign of confidence and trust.

What is your vision for ESA ; how many more students would you like to attract ?

It is not really a question of numbers but a question of action. This is why we are developing continuing education.  Human resources are the main asset of Lebanon and you have here very large international companies that have come for the human resources they can have here in Lebanon.  It is very often that they recruit people here in Lebanon, train them for a few years in Beirut then send them to other countries to be in charge of the company abroad.  This is why we really try to identify the help we can bring to companies in terms of training, consulting and coaching.

What would be your final message to our international viewers and readers about ESA and Lebanon ?

We are very confident for the future of this country.  We have very strong companies and partners here; I would especially like to mention the Central Bank of Lebanon and the governor of it.  They have played a major role in the situation of Lebanon which has not known the financial and economic crisis - which is a major event.  The growth rate of Lebanon last year was more than 8% which is a miracle.  We’re very confident for the future of this country and what it can bring to investors coming from abroad. Once again, one of the major assets of Lebanon is its unique geographic position and its human resources.  Investors can find all the assets they want here in terms of development, human resources, and partners.  For example, one of the major attractions for French investors here in Lebanon was the possibility of meeting with Lebanese investors to go abroad to Iraq!  We hope that one of the tools of this evolution will be our new executive MBA ; it is very innovative with many links to Europe, with two degrees, a Lebanese and a European degree. It will be in English, allowing more people to come here, so we really hope that this program will be of great help.